Open access
IN SEARCH OF A BIOCENTRIC DEFINITION OF INTELLIGENCE. PLANTS ARE SMARTER THAN 'SMART MACHINES'
Krzysztof Mudyń1
Culture, technology and man in the age of new media
Publication language: Polish
Journal article
Transformations No. 1 (116) 2023, Publication date: 31 March 2023
Keywords: anthropocentric vs. biocentric intelligence, the role of consciousness, plant intelligence, autonomy and resources
Abstract The author, referring to the classic definition of William Stern, proposes that intellgence should be understood as the ability to actively and effectively adapt, ensuring the continuity of existence in time while maintaining the relative identity of the species (system). Such an extended definition of intelligence allows cross-species comparisons, while the concept of IQ, anchored in psychology, was conceived as a tool to describe individual differences between people. A biocentric view of intelligence, by providing the greatest common denominator for all systems (including artificial or hybrid ones), would help reduce the anthropocentric connotations associated with the term. It also shows the problem of artificial intelligence in a different light. The author suggests that the reluctance to see signs of intelligence in simpler organisms or plants is partly due to a fallacy in reasoning, for we tacitly assume that intelligence is a specifically human quality. As a consequence, we deny intelligence to systems (organisms) whose structure (or behavior) is not human-like. This makes us inclined to attribute to our species inflated and unjustified possibilities of "world domination", which turn out to be unrealistic when confronted with other, "unintelligent" species (ecosystems) inhabiting our planet.
Instytut Psychologii, Akademia Ignatianum, Kraków, Polska
ORCID: 0000-0001-6177-7241
E-mail: krzysztof.mudyn@ignatianum.edu.pl, km.krzysztof.mudyn@gmail.com